Leatherback Bearded Bearded Dragons Pogona Vitticeps The Leatherback morph in bearded dragons is caused by a single copy of a mutated gene, which appears to interfere with scale formation during embryonic development. Dragons showing this trait have scales reduced in size, giving them a much smoother, less spiky appearance. The smaller scales can also lead to improvements in colour and pattern. Leatherback is inherited in a co-dominant fashion. Because of this, a "het" animal is a visual Leatherback. A homozygous animal is actually a scaleless "Silkback". This means that it's not possible for an animal to be "het Leatherback" unless it actually looks like a Leatherback - don't be fooled by conmen or people who have misunderstood the genetics of the morph! The same goes for "Leatherback Line" or "Leatherback Sib" dragons - these are the non-Leatherback babies from a Leatherback cross, and have no Leatherback in them.
